Transparent or translucent glass panes are often utilized to allow light to illuminate residential and commercial environments. There are many techniques that designers have utilized to enhance the aesthetics of these glass panes. For instance, some glass pane manufacturers bevel or texturize surfaces of panes to render them opaque or to provide a desired design. Another aesthetic-enhancement technique involves adhering decorative window film to smooth surfaces of the glass panes.
Some designers have attempted to replace glass panes, for example, in doors and windows, with plastic or acrylic panels that include a decorative paper or tissue. These plastic panels are produced by laminating two plastic sheets or resin-based panes around the decorative paper or tissue, for example, with glue or other adhesive. The resulting laminate panel is often further enclosed with additional plastic sheets laminated to the exterior of the panel.
While laminated panels allow the decorative paper or tissue to be viewed through the plastic layers, the process of layering multiple sheets around the decorative material can provide poor aesthetics, i.e., due to optical distortion of the decorative paper caused by the layering or adhesive, or due to unintentional incorporation air bubbles between the various layers. Since these plastic panels are laminated, their layers tend to separate over time, allowing water and mold to infiltrate between the layers and into the decorative paper or tissue. The laminated panels are further limited to incorporating only flat paper or tissue capable of adhering to the laminating adhesive.